Asking for Trouble
by MistyPaws
Summary: What happens when Urahara offers Zangetsu and Shiro a chance to get outside of their usual sideways city?
1. Ch 1: Boredom or Insanity?

Ch 1: Boredom, or Insanity?

Across the sideways city, the sounds of swords clashing echoed. As a cloaked figure raced closer, the sounds became louder and more defined. With one more flash step the cloaked figure arrived at the scene of the fight. A tall boy in black robes with bright orange hair was fighting what could have been his shadow, except he was all white. Noticing the new arrival, both turned to see Zangetsu watching them.

"Hey Zangetsu!" greeted the red head.

Zangetsu started to reply, "Don't get distracted in a fight Ichigo. You won't know-" he was cut off as Shiro shot forward and knocked Ichigo over the head with the flat side of his sword. "what your opponent will do." He finished with a sigh as Ichigo dropped to the ground holding his head.

"Darn it! Was that really necessary Shiro?!"

"Hey, you practically begged for it, turning away from me." Shiro retorted. Ichigo just sat on the ground muttering and rubbing his head.

"If you two are done arguing, perhaps you would care to join me for some tea?" This earned a surprised look from both twins, which quickly turned into nervous suspicion. Zangetsu had never invited them to do anything without there being some sort of catch.

"Uh, actually, I think I have to go now, so…" Ichigo started.

"You _think_ you have to go now? And just where do you need to go?"

"Uh."

"Exactly. You're not a very good liar, are you?"

Ichigo sighed. "No, I guess not."

"Not very bright to begin with, I would say." Shiro added.

"Shut it, Shiro." And with that, the two began to follow Zangetsu as he shunpo'd away.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

Upon arriving at the outskirts of the sideways city, Zangetsu slowed down and jumped up into an open manhole in the road. Ichigo followed, then Shiro. Once inside, the gravity seemed to abruptly go back to normal resulting in Ichigo landing face down in the dirt, with Shiro on top, crushing the breath out of Ichigo.

"Get offa me, stupid hollow!" Ichigo managed to gasp out.

"Git yourself out King! The hollow growled before untangling himself and watching Ichigo sit up and catch his breath.

"All ya did was fall on yer face and yer winded? Come on, you've gotta be better'n that!" Shiro taunted.

"Like you're any better. You fell on me!"

"You should've moved outta my way! Then ya wouldn't have been squashed like a bug ya jerk!" Shiro pulled on his swords ribbon until it was a long strip. Then he whipped it forward as Ichigo stood up, the ribbon wrapping around his ankles before Shiro yanked the restraint, sending Ichigo back to the ground. Ichigo yanked the ribbon off then flash stepped behind Shiro, sword raised, as Shiro turned. Just as they were about to strike each other, they were both thrown back as someone in a green haori stepped between them.

"Come on, quit bickering you two. Zangetsu didn't bring you here to fight. He brought you here so we could have a little chat about him." Urahara said, pointing at the hollow.

"What about him?" Ichigo asked, now on edge. Almost nothing was as it seemed with Urahara. Ichigo was sure the man was at least partially insane, with all his crazy ways of getting what he wanted.

"What would you think about giving him a chance in the real world?"

"Are you crazy?! He's insane!"

"He may truly be insane, but it could also simply be boredom. I also offer this opportunity to Zangetsu, if you wouldn't mind." He snapped his fan open and started fanning himself.

" I don't care if Zangetsu wants to come out, but there is no way I'm letting that crazy hollow out!" That was when Zangetsu joined in.

"Now Ichigo, let's think about this. If he really is just bored, this may help. And if he does go out I'll be out there with him to keep an eye on him."

"Hey, I'm still here ya know. Stop talkin like I ain't here!" Shiro snapped.

"Well, it's not like you've really got any say in the matter." Ichigo shot back.

"Shut up, blasted Strawberries!" Zangetsu had lost his last shred of patience and had burst out, turning into Tensa Zangetsu in his frustration. His transformation also successfully silenced the duo, as it was never a good idea to make Tensa mad. He would get payback for sure, one way or another. Tensa then turned to Urahara.

"We accept your offer, Urahara. I'm sure Ichigo agrees with me." He said, glaring at Ichigo.

"Uh, yeah, of course." Ichigo replied.

"Good, I'll get things ready. It should be finished by tomorrow. See you then!" With that, Urahara faded from Ichigo's inner world. Ichigo followed soon after. _I just hope this doesn't end in disaster._ He thought.


	2. Ch 2: Escape From the Sideways World

Ch 2: Escape From the Inner World

The next day started with Yoruichi slamming open Ichigo's window, startling him awake and making him fall onto the floor.

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo shouted.

"Urahara wants to see you. He sent me because apparently last time, the red goo freaked you out." Yoruichi replied with a smirk.

"Fine, just give me a minute to get changed and I'll be on my way." Ichigo then shut the window, leaving Yoruichi sitting on the ledge outside. He grabbed an outfit then went to the bathroom to get changed. A few minutes later Ichigo walked out the front door and called Yoruichi off the roof.

"Let's go already so I can see what he wants." She looked at him and smirked. "If you say so."

"Wait what are you-" Before he could finish, she grabbed the back of his shirt collar and flash stepped away. A few seconds later they appeared in front of Urahara Shoten. Yoruichi promptly dropped Ichigo on the ground and walked inside. When he walked in, he was met by Urahara who had two gigai's prepared sitting behind him.

"Welcome, Ichigo. Are you ready to let Zangetsu and your Hollow out?"

"Yeah, sure." Without warning, Urahara lifted his cane and hit Ichigo in the head, causing the Shinigami to fall out of his body.

"I need you to meditate with Zangetsu and manifest him. He will bring Shiro with him and they will enter these gigai's that I specially made to keep them manifested and appear human."

"Fine." Ichigo sat down with Zangetsu across his lap. After a few minutes, he was pulled into his inner world. "Hey Zangetsu. Are you and Shiro ready?' He asked the spirits.

"Yes, let's go." Zangetsu replied. With that, all three were pulled back into the real world. Ichigo opened his eyes to see the spirits standing in front of him, about to enter their gigai's. They grabbed their respective gigai's and, in a quick flash of blue light, they were in them.

"Eh, this thing is hard ta move in. How do you humans stand it?" Shiro complained. "It's fine. It's just harder for you to move now that you're in a physical form instead of spirit form. "That ain't gonna stop me though!" Shiro said with a grin. "I'm gonna go check out what powers I still have and see what I can do with them. See ya round, King!" Shiro then disappeared in a flash of sonido, leaving everyone staring at the spot he had been standing. Ichigo was the one to break the silence.

"Great, he's already disappeared. Now I have to go find him before he freaks on someone."

Zangetsu interrupted. "Not quite, Ichigo. I can tell where he has gone, as we were originally one being." Ichigo just looked at Zangetsu with an 'Are you serious?' look.

"Fine. Just make sure he doesn't go crazy on someone."

"Of course."

"Well, I guess I should get going too. I had promised to meet the others to do some training in Soul Society." Ichigo stated.

"Ah, are you going to be training with the 11th today?" Urahara asked.

"Are you crazy Urahara?! I'm not suicidal! Kenpachi is nuts! I'm just going to be training with Shunsui and Ukitake."

"Very well. I'll open the senkaimon whenever you are ready."

"Just do it now and let the others through when they get here." Ichigo snapped. Urahara leapt through the trapdoor to the underground training room and went over to power up the senkaimon. Ichigo jumped through and went on his way to Soul Society.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

Down by the river, Shiro was sitting in a tree watching the fish swim by. He noticed how they flashed in the sunlight, kinda like how swords flashed in battle. Nobody noticed he was there because he had left his gigai at Ichigo's house so he could use his powers freely as well as being invisible to most people. As a huge fish swam by, he drew his sword and threw it into the water, successfully catching the fish. He had kept the ribbon in his hand, so with a quick jerk he brought the sword back with the fish still on it. Quickly, he pushed some of his reiatsu into the fish to make it invisible like he was. After all, he didn't want people seeing a dead fish randomly flying around as he carried it.

He tied tail of the fish to his shihakusho by using the sash around his waist. Not even bothering to use the bridge, he simply jumped across the river to start heading off. However, before he could get to far away from Karakura Town, he felt Zangetsu's reiatsu approaching. Fast. He increased his pace to sonido, when suddenly he crashed into something.

"Oww…" Shiro looked up from his position on the ground to see what he had hit, only to find Zangetsu standing in front of him. He had banged his head on the sword Zangetsu was holding in front of him, in just the right spot to hit Shiro in the face.

"I do not believe you have been given permission to leave the borders of this town." Zangetsu stated.

"I can do whatever I want now that I'm not stuck in that stupid sideways world." Shiro retorted.

"Hollow, you will either come back willingly or I will force you." Zangetsu was starting to get irritated, which is never a good thing. Shiro knew this, but still refused.

"Guess I'll just have to beat my way a thinkin' inta ya!" He shouted.

Zangetsu sighed. "Let's just get this over with." Shiro immediately drew his sword and went to ban-kai, knowing that shi-kai would be nowhere near enough. However, he had failed to realize that Zangetsu, being the zanpakuto spirit, could make the sword disappear, just as he could make it appear. And that is exactly what he did. The sword in Shiro's hands dissolved into dust, and when he looked back up, it was too late.

Zangetsu's fist met Shiro's head, effectively knocking him out. He picked up the unconscious hollow, and then shunpo'd back to Ichigo's house. He took the fish from Shiro's sash, then forced him back into his gigai. A small bracelet was then clipped to his wrist. The device came from, of course, Urahara. Zangetsu decided to just leave it, and let Shiro figure it out for himself. He grabbed the fish, diffused the reiatsu Shiro had injected, and took it down to the kitchen.

He rinsed the fish off in the sink, then put it in the freezer. He had seen Ichigo use the things enough that he understood their general purpose and function. Ichigo's sister would be delighted to have such a large fish to cook up. When he was heading back up to Ichigo's room, he heard a commotion. It sounded like Shiro was awake and Ichigo was home. Zangetsu opened the door to find the twins, once again, arguing.

Shiro was ticked off that he had been brought back to Karakura Town, and Ichigo was chewing him out for leaving in the first place. Upon noticing Zangetsu, Shiro turned away, sulking and Ichigo dropped himself on his bed.

"Don't know why I let that stupid hollow out in the first place." Ichigo muttered.

"Stop complaining, what's done is done. And you need to give him more of a chance." Zangetsu replied.

"Where is he gonna sleep? It's getting late." Ichigo abruptly changed the subject, tired of arguing. "Apparently, Urahara had this all thought out. Maybe we should go see what he had set up."

Shiro jumped in with his opinion, "Are you crazy? There's no way I'm gonna go back to that mad scientist guy."

"Yes, you are. If you don't want to come, I will have to force you. Do you want to get knocked out again?" Zangetsu glared at him, making his point.

"Fine, no guarantee I'm gonna stay there though."

"We should get going before Dad and my sisters get back from wherever they went." Ichigo said.

"I will take him back to Urahara Shoten. You stay here, Ichigo."

"All right. Thanks Zangetsu."

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

Zangetsu was practically dragging Shiro behind him, trying to get him to Urahara's. Upon arriving, he took Shiro to Urahara, pulling him along by the wrist.

"I've brought him here to spend the night, as you requested." Zangetsu stated.

"Alright then. I'll take him to his room." Urahara replied. The hollow was surprisingly quiet, silently sulking to himself. Zangetsu left to go back to Ichigo, and Urahara had grabbed Shiro's wrist and was now dragging him down the hall.

"Here is your room. You will be staying here for tonight. Where you spend the next few nights will depend on your behavior." Urahara said. Shiro just glared at him, his mood still dropping. Pretty soon, he would get destructive. And Urahara knew he was going to be the first target. He would just have to make sure that didn't happen. He left Shiro in his room, shut the door, and activated the barrier. Sure enough, the shouting and crashing started, continuing well into the night. Eventually things got quiet.

"Must have worn himself out." Urahara commented. Then he himself went to bed, deciding to forget about the hollow until morning.

**-AFT-AFT-AFT- **

**And so ends chapter 2. Seems like Shiro likes getting into trouble! Until next time.**

**~MistyPaws**


	3. Ch 3: Exploration

Ch 3: Exploration

**A/N: Quick note about the bracelet in the last chapter. It keeps Shiro stuck in the gigai and also turns off his powers when in the gigai. It can be temporarily turned off by Ichigo or Zangetsu putting their reiatsu in it and turns back on when the reiatsu is removed. **

**-AFT-AFT-AFT-**

The next morning, Urahara had gotten up early. He needed to figure out what he was going to do for food for Shiro. Being a hollow, human food would not do anything for him. Not unless it was full of spirit energy. Suddenly, he got an idea. Surely, Uryū and his father wouldn't mind him "borrowing" a few of their Gintō capsules. They would be more than enough reiatsu for the hollow, probably even needing to be diluted. He would send Yoruichi for some later. Right now, he needed to check on Shiro.

Judging from the noise last night, his room would likely be completely destroyed. Heading down the hall, he heard the others starting to wake up. Now standing in front of Shiro's room, he didn't hear anything at all. He deactivated the barrier and opened the door. To say the least, it looked like a massive bomb had gone off. The little furniture that had been in the room had been smashed, the walls, floor and ceiling all had cracks and even what looked like burn marks.

In one corner, it looked like Shiro had salvaged the remains of the bed, just a blanket and pillows, and shoved it all together to make his own bed. It was all in a pile with Shiro lying face down on top of it, head resting on his crossed arms. Seeing as how he was still asleep, he figured it was his job to wake him up. Urahara walked over to Shiro and started poking his head with the non-separating end of his cane.

"Go away, Zangetsu." Shiro groaned. Urahara smirked, raised his cane, and brought it down on the floor with a sharp 'Crack'. The noise made Shiro jump and fall off his makeshift bed.

"Rise and shine!" Urahara sang.

"Dang it Urahara! What was that for?!" Shiro snapped.

"It was time for you to get up. I sent Yoruichi to get Ichigo. He's going to be showing you around town today. Seeing as how yesterday didn't go well at all."

"And what makes you think today will go any better? I can get away from Ichigo whenever I want to."

"Zangetsu will be going with you and will know if you try to get away."

"That's right. Zangetsu and I are linked, darn it." Just then, Yoruichi appeared in the doorway with Ichigo and Zangetsu.

"Yoruichi, it's way too early to be up. Why couldn't you have waited a bit longer?" Ichigo complained.

"Because it is too nice today to just sleep all day. And you are going around town today." Yoruichi replied.

"Yeah, fine." Ichigo looked at Shiro. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's get going before hat n' clogs does something else." Shiro walked off down the hall with Zangetsu following. Ichigo looked at Urahara.

"What did you do to him?" He asked. Urahara flicked his fan open and grinned.

"Oh, not much. I just locked him in his room last night and gave him a wakeup call this morning."

"You know what, never mind. I'd better get going." Ichigo then dashed away to catch up with the other two.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

Seeing Ichigo leave, Urahara turned to Yoruichi. "I need you to run one more errand for me. Can you get me some of Uryū's Gintō? I have some things to do that require a few of those."

"Sure. See ya later." And with that, Yoruichi took off.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

Ichigo caught up with the two spirits as they were walking out the main gate. He looked around, thinking of where they could go. Suddenly, he smirked and glanced over at the hollow. He'd see just how well Shiro could fight without his powers. "Let's go this way. I have an idea."

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

A short walk later found the three in front of the dojo where Tatsuki trained. They walked in to see Tatsuki training by herself with her Sensei.

"Hey Tatsuki! I brought a friend that wants a match with you." Ichigo called.

"Hey Ichigo. Nice to see ya. So who did you bring me to train with?" Tatsuki replied.

"Oh, he already knows how to fight. He just wanted to go a round with ya." Ichigo turned to Shiro. "Go on Shiro. Let's see you have a go." Watching the exchange, Shiro had become increasingly nervous. Normally, someone like her would be no problem. But in his gigai, he was only human. And he had found out during his fit last night that the bracelet forced him to stay in his gigai. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Ichigo pushed him forward and went to stand off to the side with Zangetsu.

"Hey!" Shiro started to protest, but was cut off by Tatsuki coming at him. She aimed a punch at his head and he narrowly dodged it. He jumped back a bit then lunged back towards her, trying to get a hit in. She caught his fist, grabbed his arm, and threw him over her back all in one motion. He landed upside down, leaning against the wall. He righted himself and flew back at her. Tatsuki dodged and spun as Shiro flew by, kicking the back of his knee and making him collapse. Tatsuki came over and stepped on his back.

"Are you done already? I thought you wanted to fight, not just dance around." Tatsuki taunted.

"Get off! I'm not done yet!" Shiro twisted around and pulled her leg, causing her to stumble and fall herself. He jumped up and settled back into position as Tatsuki did the same. Shiro ran forward and attempted to hit her with a roundhouse kick. Tatsuki grabbed his foot and yanked it, causing Shiro to go into a half splits, front leg out straight with the back one bent. Still not used to the stiffness of the gigai, it hurt pretty bad stretching like that. In fact, he felt a muscle strain and cramp in the leg that was straight in front. He fell over and grabbed at his leg, straining against the intense pain.

"Hold it! I give!" Shiro shouted. Tatsuki had stopped to observe Shiro while Zangetsu had rushed forward to see what had happened, sensing extreme pain coming from Shiro. Ichigo had also rushed over.

"Can you move your leg, Shiro?" Zangetsu asked worriedly.

"Noo…." Shiro moaned. "It hurts too much. Oww…."

"We'd better get him back to my house so my dad can see what happened." Ichigo said.

"Hey, is he okay?" Tatsuki asked.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. We'll just have my dad check him real quick." Ichigo replied. Zangetsu had started to haul Shiro to his feet, and Ichigo stepped in so he was supported on either side. Shiro held his leg up, being careful not to let it move too much.

"Let's get him outside, Zangetsu. I know how we can get him back quickly." Ichigo suggested. They walked outside and sat on the step. Ichigo then pulled out his substitute badge.

"I'm going to take my body and your gigai and drop them off at my house. You follow with flash step before anybody realizes." Ichigo pressed his badge against his chest, then tossed it to Zangetsu who did the same thing. He grabbed the bodies before they fell and flash stepped home. He gave Zangetsu his gigai as he appeared next to him. They walked in the front door and went into the clinic, setting Shiro up on the exam table.

Shiro glared at Ichigo. "And why was it a good idea to have me fight when I didn't have any powers?"

Ichigo ignored him and instead called out, "Hey dad! We've got a patient in here!" A few seconds later, Isshin rushed in pulling on his doctor coat with Yuzu following him.

"What happened here?" He asked.

Shiro opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Zangetsu. "We were practicing and Shiro fell over and grabbed his leg while we were training. We brought him right over to be examined."

"Of course. Shiro is it? Can you pull up your pant leg and explain what the pain feels like?" Isshin prompted.

"Uh, sure." Shiro pulled his loose jeans up to reveal a purplish swelling on the back of his lower leg. "I stretched it too far and felt a sharp pain in the back of my leg. It still hurts and I can't really move it."

"Hmm..." After examining the injury for a minute he called Yuzu over. "I'll need an ice pack, two Ibuprofen, and bandages." Yuzu dashed off to retrieve the items while the three teens sat stunned. Shiro was really hurt?

Isshin started explaining what had happened. "You have strained your muscle. It is not as bad as it could be, but still not pretty. It needs time to recover, meaning you will need to be resting to avoid further straining your injury." Just then, Yuzu came back in with all the supplies. She gave Shiro the two Ibuprofen and told him to take it. She handed him a water bottle and gave the rest of the stuff to Isshin.

He took the bandages and started wrapping up the injury to keep pressure on it and keep it somewhat firm and stable. In one of the layers he tucked the icepack in to reduce swelling, secured the bandage and stepped back.

"That's it. Just go easy on it and be careful. If it's really sore just take some painkillers. Other than that, you're good to go." Isshin helped Shiro stand and backed away when Zangetsu came to help Shiro.

"They were actually going to hang out over here today and spend the night. So we're going to head up to my room." Ichigo suddenly spoke up. They left the exam room and helped Shiro up the steps to Ichigo's room. They sat Shiro on the bed and Ichigo went downstairs to get another spare mattress. He brought it up and set it next to the mattress Zangetsu had used.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on. Shiro slept, probably the painkillers knocked him out, and Ichigo and Zangetsu talked. That night Ichigo called Urahara to let him know Shiro would be staying with him overnight. Ichigo and Zangetsu ended up on the mattresses because when Ichigo tried to wake up Shiro and get him to move, he started going on about why couldn't people just leave him alone and let him sleep. Even drugged up on painkillers, Shiro was ready to hurt someone. And so, Shiro ended up with the bed.

"I'm sure he'll have a good night's sleep. After all, he took my bed." With that comment, Ichigo rolled over and went to sleep.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

**Thoughts, opinions and ideas would be very much appreciated.**

**~MistyPaws**


	4. Ch 4: Shiro Goes to School

Ch 4: Shiro Goes to School

**A/N: Shiro's gigai is basically Ichigo with minor color changes and longer white hair. Zangetsu's is the same as his spirit form but he can freely change between his younger and older self.**

It took about a week for Shiro to fully heal, and he had slept most of the time. He had said that Zangetsu would stay at the house most of the time though, to keep an eye on Shiro while Ichigo was out. Kon spent most of the time hiding in the closet, afraid of the ticked off Hollow. Ichigo has brought Orihime over at one point to see if she could do anything, but she couldn't heal what she couldn't see, with it not being an open wound. At least Shiro's advanced healing wasn't completely blocked by his gigai. When the week was up, Shiro was at Ichigo even more to make up for being stuck at home. Urahara had given Zangetsu something when he had gone over so he could make sure the gigai was working properly. Apparently, it was for Shiro, should he have the need to consume spirit energy. When asked, the only reply had been, "Ask Ishida. He will know. Hope he didn't mind sharing it!" Having that boost while still resting, he also had a lot of energy that he needed to burn off. That was good for the Hollow, not so good for Ichigo…

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

After a week of sleeping on the floor, taking care of Shiro, and still having to go to school, Ichigo wanted to go off on his own for a while. So he got out of bed, got dressed, and snuck out the front door before the others got up. It was still really early, so not many places were open yet. So he decided to go to the park where he first fought to defend a spirit. He sat on a bench, just watching things go by. It was amazing how his life had gone from being fairly normal (minus the seeing ghosts part), to living a double life and all the chaos that came with it. From invading a spirit world to rescue his friend, to dealing with his own inner hollow.

Ichigo sighed. He would have to be heading home soon to get ready for school. Standing up and stretching, he walked a lap around the park before heading back. When he got home, however, the two spirits were nowhere to be found. Going back downstairs, he found Yuzu in the kitchen making breakfast. Deciding to just worry about the spirits later, he went to see if Yuzu needed help. Oh, how he would regret that.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

By the time Ichigo got to school, he still didn't know where Shiro or Zangetsu were. He ignored Keigo, who was shouting something about new students, and went to his seat. The teacher walked in and told everyone to sit down and be quiet. "Good morning! Today we have two new students who will be joining us." She went back over to the door and stepped out. When she came back in, Ichigo was shocked. Behind her was Shiro and Tensa Zangetsu. Shiro had on a jeans jacket over a black shirt, with regular jeans pants and light gray shoes. Tensa had a black leather jacket over a white shirt, dark blue jeans, and black boots. They had both also changed their physical appearances somewhat. Shiro now had a normal skin color, and Tensa had his hair straightened, held in a low ponytail.

He focused back on the teacher when she started talking again. "These young men are Shiro and Tensa Kurosaki. They are Ichigo Kurosaki's twin and younger brother." She then turned to Shiro and Tensa. "Please sit in the back next to your brother." Shiro sat next to Ichigo, and Tensa sat behind them to keep an eye on the two. Tensa participated in class, which was rather surprising, and Shiro had been quiet and staring at nothing, which was worrying. The walk home was uneventful. At least, until Shiro spoke up.

"Oi, King."

"What, Shiro? And don't call me that in public. People will think we're weird."

"We are weird, so that don't exactly bother me."

"Well, it bothers me, so don't do it."

"Fine, whatever."

"So what did you want?"

"How long ya gonna keep us manifested?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Don't know. Hadn't really thought about it much. Why?"

Shiro looked at the sky. "Just wondering."

"Not. Seriously, why?"

"Nothin."

"WHY?"

*Sigh*… "I've kinda seen someone around town a couple of times…"

"And?"

"Well, uh, it's the girl in your class. Tatsuki. I kinda like her." Tensa, who had just been listening to the exchange, looked at them in shock, and Ichigo was at a loss for words.

"Hey, I didn't want to tell ya to begin with." Shiro was still looking at the sky, now red with embarrassment.

"Y-you like Tatsuki?!"

"Yes, now drop the subject." The three fell quiet, and walked the rest of the way home in silence. When Ichigo opened the door, he and Shiro stepped out of the way, leaving Tensa to deal with a flying Isshin. Tensa punched him to the floor, then threw him out the door. They went upstairs to find a note on Ichigo's door. It was from Urahara and read, "Seeing as how none of you have been back for a week, I am assuming that Zangetsu and Shirosaki are staying at your place. So I made a few modifications for you! There is a Reiatsu sensor in the light switch panel. See what happens when you activate it!"

Instead of a signature at the bottom, there was a picture of Urahara's hat. Ichigo took the note down and opened the door. Shiro flipped the switch and put some Reiatsu into the panel. A soft 'click' was heard and a trapdoor in the ceiling opened up. Shiro went up first, jumping up into the ceiling. Having spent a week in his gigai, his soul form had synced up with it and he had a good part of his mobility back. Ichigo and Tensa followed shortly after. The attic space that had been above Ichigo's room had been cleared out and redone to make a hidden bedroom.

There was enough room to stand up, because part of the ceiling had been rebuilt. There were two beds with fold away desks and storage space in the headboard. There was another note laying on one of the beds. "This room is for Shirosaki and Zangetsu. I was sure you wouldn't mind the remodeling if they're going to be staying for a while." This time his fan was on the paper

"He managed to get the whole attic rebuilt into a bedroom in just a few hours?" Ichigo shook his head in disbelief. The man was crazy. At least he wouldn't have to share his room with them anymore.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

**As always, thoughts and opinions are much appreciated. **

**~MistyPaws**


	5. Ch 5: Confrontations

Ch 5: Confrontations

**SPOILER ALERT! Contains spoilers for most recent Bleach chapters, about Ichigo's power manifestations. (Shirosaki and Zangetsu)**

**-AFT-AFT-AFT-**

Ichigo woke the next morning to the feeling of rising spiritual power. By the time he got up, it was almost crushing force. Panicking, he immediately used his badge to free himself from his body, and find the source of the energy. Surprisingly, it was right above his house. Flying up, he saw Shiro was standing against Rukia, Renji, and Byakuya, Zangetsu watching from the side. All of them had Shikai released, and pink flower petal blades swirled around them. Thankfully, it didn't look like anyone had attacked yet.

"Hey! What's going on here?!" Ichigo shouted.

"Oi, Ichigo! Don't mind us, we're just taking care of this Hollow real quick!" Rukia shouted back. Ichigo went over to stand in front of Shiro, hand reaching for his Zanpakuto.

"Don't touch him." Ichigo warned.

"Step aside, Kurosaki." He turned to glare at Byakuya.

"No. Leave him alone."

"King. Scram. I can handle these guys alone." Shiro snapped. Ichigo then turned to him.

"I told you not to call me that in front of other people. And I'd rather not deal with a fight right now." He turned back to the Shinigami.

"Shiro is not a regular Hollow. He's not hurt anyone, and he's not causing any trouble."

Rukia lowered her sword and marched up to him, poking him in the chest. "He's still a Hollow! We have to get rid of him."

"As far as I'm concerned, he's not a Hollow anymore."

"Why do you protect him?" Huh. This seemed to be going the same direction as the conversation with Muramasa.

"Cause he's a part of me and that's all that matters at the moment." There was a long silence. Then...

"Are you insane?!"

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

Ichigo was now in his room, along with Shiro, Zangetsu, and the other Shinigami. All of them were glaring at Ichigo, except Zangetsu, who was glaring at the Shinigami. Rukia and Byakuya probably thought he was an idiot, Renji and Shiro because they'd been spoiling for a fight, and Zangetsu thought all the Shinigami were idiots.

Renji broke the tense silence. "So, uh, why exactly are you keeping a Hollow again?"

Shiro butted in before Ichigo could reply. "Cause I'm his Inner Hollow. That bastard Urahara found a way to keep us manifested, so we've been hangin' around in the world of the living for a bit."

"And why are you letting him wander around freely? He's still a Hollow!" Rukia asked.

"He hasn't hurt anybody and he seems to be doing just fine. I don't see what the problem is." Ichigo replied.

"The problem is, Ichigo, that he is a Hollow!" Rukia was almost shouting, irritated by his stubbornness.

"As far as I'm concerned, he may as well be a Zanpakuto spirit for all I care. He's a manifested spirit made from my power." Rukia and Renji looked ready to argue again, but Byakuya stopped them.

"Kurosaki. The manifested spirits will be permitted for the time being. However, if they step out of line, we will be forced to intervene."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Ichigo retorted.

"Very well. Rukia, Renji, we've finished here." With that, the three Shinigami stood and shunpo'd away. With a sigh, Ichigo turned to Shiro and Zangetsu.

"So… why were you guys starting a fight anyways? And where were you Zangetsu?"

"I had stayed in the hidden room. I felt no need to intervene."

"Why not? They were on the verge of fighting!"

"Even if a fight had broken out, Zan- Shiro would have been fine." Ichigo ignored the slip-up in favor of bugging the spirits.

"Are you sure about that? Byakuya's a captain, and Rukia and Renji are lieutenants! I would have a hard time against them all! Plus he's a Hollow! He could have been killed!" Zangetsu and Shiro looked at each other.

"Should we tell him?"

"We might as well. It's been long enough and I believe he's proven himself."

Ichigo broke in, "What are you guys talking about?"

Zangetsu replied, "Ichigo. Have you ever noticed that every time you lose and regain your powers, your Shinigami uniform and Zanpakuto change?"

"Yeah, course I noticed." Ichigo replied, confused about the strange question.

"Have you ever wondered why?"

"Well yeah, but-"

Shiro's limited patience snapped. "Oh, come on. Cut it out with the trivia questions! He's not Zangetsu, I am! That guy," He pointed at the other spirit, "is Juha Bach! He's a Quincy manifestation! The reason your power kept changing is because he was controlling how much power you could use, and you kept unlocking more of your true power each time you regained them. Now," he grinned wildly, "since you know that now, we may as well unlock the rest of it, right?"

Ichigo, however, was not happy with the explanation. "What?! So you've been lying about this the whole time? And why would he be a Quincy manifestation?!"

Shiro's expression turned annoyed now. "Yeah, but we told you now, didn't we? I'll explain the rest when you wake up."

"Wha-" Ichigo started to protest, but stopped, as the spirits had dropped into Jinzen and started to glow. Abruptly, they disappeared, and Ichigo felt intense pain as his soul underwent the final, and biggest transformation of all. Then he blacked out and collapsed, as the transformation continued.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

**End chapter 5. Thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated!**

**~MistyPaws**


	6. Ch 6: Teachings and Revelations

Ch 6: Teachings and Revelations

Ichigo woke up with a pounding headache and aching muscles. When he opened his eyes, everything was blurry. Closing his eyes again, he lay there trying to remember what happened. Being unsuccessful, he opened his eyes again to find that things were much clearer this time, though still spinning slightly. Trying to get up, he immediately fell right back down. Focusing on his aching body rather than the spinning room, he realized he was on his bedroom floor. His body felt light, so he was in spirit form. And it felt like Zangetsu was on his back, but a bit heavier.

There was also a smaller weight on his hip. Once more attempting to stand, he succeeded and stood to get a better look at himself. The weight on his hip turned out to be a short blade with a handle inside it. The weight on his back was also a blade, a bit larger than Zangetsu, but longer and narrower, more of an actual sword shape. It had a long narrow hole in the center, and both blades were completely black. His power was also more of the red and black of his bankai, instead of the blue and white of his shikai.

He went to the bathroom to look in the mirror. His uniform had changed again, along with the swords. It no longer had the thick black X straps across the open front. It once again resembled a typical Shinigami uniform, but had a large white X across the chest. He took another moment to look at himself before voicing his thoughts.

"The heck is all this?!"

The sound of Shiro,(Zangetsu now, he realized), laughing at him shook him out of his shock.

"What do you mean, what's this? This is our full power!" Shiro responded.

"I know that! I was just surprised." Ichigo retorted defensively. He returned to his room and dropped into his inner world. Upon entry, Shiro immediately lunged at him, no sword, and playfully pushed him to the ground. Completely unprepared, he easily fell, but jumped right back up. For a moment, he looked angry, but then he smirked and charged at Shiro. They went into a full out wrestling match, going until they were both exhausted, no clear winner. They flopped to the ground, panting.

Ichigo was the first to speak after getting his breath back. "So, why didn't you guys release my full power to begin with?"

Shiro looked over before replying. "Isn't it obvious? Because our power is so huge that it would have killed us. Each time you lost and regained your power, I released some more of our power. Your body had to adapt to more power every time. By now, your body was adjusted enough to handle it."

"Oh." At this, Ichigo relaxed a bit and closed his eyes, enjoying the warm sun and light breeze of his inner world.

Ichigo woke to a sharp pain in his side. Shifting, the pressure momentarily faded but then hit him again. Opening his eyes, he was on his back with Shiro staring down at him, Shiro's foot in Ichigo's side. Forgetting where he was, he jumped to his feet.

"What are you doing here?!" Ichigo exclaimed.

Shiro gave him an 'are you serious' expression and said, "Why do you think I'm here? You're still in your inner world moron. Now get out. You have to go to school."

"What? It was only afternoon when I came here!"

"People always pass out after they first activate Shikai. You just did that earlier, ours takes more power so you fell asleep again to make up for the extra power used. You slept the rest of the day and all night. Now shoo, you're gonna be late."

Ichigo listened to him go on. Shiro was trying to be annoyed, but couldn't seem to manage it. He stared at Ichigo until he left. Sighing, Shiro wondered just how much would change now that Ichigo knew the truth.

**-AFT-AFT-AFT-**

**Many thanks to those who still read this!**

**Comments, reviews, and suggestions are all welcome!**

**~MistyPaws**


	7. Ch 7: Fluffy and Dangerous

Chapter 7: Fluffy and Dangerous

Ichigo was standing in the hall after school, trying to not get a headache. His teacher was giving him a lecture about being late to school, cutting classes, and the like. And she was really getting into it too. She'd been going on for a good fifteen minutes now, and Ichigo just wanted to leave. At the moment of that thought, his substitute badge went off. Great. Now he had a hollow to deal with too. And as far as he knew, none of the other Shinigami were in the area.

With a "Sorry, gotta go" he was running down the hall, hoping his teacher wouldn't be to mad and try to lecture him again later. He left his body in a storage closet and Shunpo'd to where the Hollow was. But it wasn't at all what he expected.

It was a Hollow yes, but it looked so much like a cat, and such a cute one, that he didn't want to hurt it. It was super fluffy, and a bright, fiery orange with white paws and chest, and it's mask was more of a tiara, resting on top of her head. She had large, golden yellow eyes, which looked up at him at it meowed at him. He got the feeling from Shiro that even he thought it was kinda cute. Until she walked over to chew on the tip of Zangetsu's sheath, then clawed her way up to Ichigo's shoulder to chew on the handle, then on his hair.

"Oi! Get off!" Ichigo shouted as he tried to get the cat off, only to suppress a yelp as the cat dug its claws in further. As he was fighting with the cat, Shiro was cracking up laughing at him. Finally he managed to grab its scruff with one hand, and remove the claws one by one with his other hand. He had a silent glaring contest with the cat hanging by her scruff, before the cat's irritation seemed to disappear and it meowed pitifully. With a sigh, he let her ride on his shoulder as he went home after retrieving his body.

He had given her some fish, which was gone in under a minute, then it had fallen asleep on his bed. Ichigo looked back at the textbook sitting on his desk, trying to focus on his homework. But he was to distracted. First Shiro, now a Hollow cat, the others would have a fit. And how was he supposed to take care of her? Nobody could see her, and he wasn't about to ask Urahara for a gigai for her. He would have gotten to end of grief for it.

The next day, Ichigo went to school with an orange cat with a kitty sweater following him. He had gotten a gigai from Urahara anyways, because Yoruichi had come to investigate the spirit energy coming from the cat. Being part cat herself, and happy to cause Ichigo some trouble, she had gone back to Urahara to request a gigai for it. Obviously, he had agreed, and now here he was. Orihime of course thought it was adorable. Uryū had teased him about it. And Rukia had _just_ _happened_ to be there that day. She thought the cat was cute, but she was clearly keeping an eye on it.

When lunch break came, Rukia started asking questions. "I got a Hollow report yesterday, and it seems that Hollow was never taken care of. What was that about?"

"How should I know? I took care of every Hollow I found." Ichigo replied while avoiding her gaze.

"Took care of how, exactly?" She pressed.

"What do you think?"

"Stop avoiding the question! Tell me, why does that cat have spirit energy?" Rukia burst out.

"Well... It's kinda a Hollow, but it's more of a cat than a Hollow. It ate some spirit energy from me and Zangetsu when I found it, but it's been behaving since. And I couldn't get it to stay at home. It keeps following me around."

"Why does it have a gigai? And a kitty sweater?"

"Yoruichi."

"Ah."

"Yeah."

"You better not keep taking in Hollows. Seireitei will not be happy about this, and will send someone to deal with the issue."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. I won't do anything stupid."

Rukia just sighed and walked away. The cat came over and sat on his lap, and started taking nibbles of food from his lunch. He reached over to move his lunchbox away, but the cat smacked his hand away. He tried again. And again.

"Kasai, stop it! It's not even yours, you stupid ball of fur!" Kasai hissed at him, took one last bite of food, then hopped off his lap and sat behind him.

"Great. Now she's mad at me. She acts like a spoiled brat." He muttered.

"She is a spoiled brat, King."

Ichigo jumped, because the voice was not inside his head. It was behind him. He turned to see Shiro petting Kasai, the cat sitting in his arms. And Shiro was in his gigai.

"Why are you here?!" Ichigo nearly shouted.

"I figured out how to manifest after releasing our full power, and I wanted to try it out. Seems it worked. As for the gigai, it must have just came with me when I went back to your inner world."

"And why did you come out?"

"Cause I wanted ta bug ya."

"I kinda figured."

"Then why'd ya ask?"

"Forget it. Why don't you just go back and quit bugging me?"

"Fine." Shiro dropped Kasai back in Ichigo's lap, and closed his eyes to focus. His form briefly faded partway, then became solid a few times before Shiro gave up.

"I can't go back."

"Then how did you get out?"

"I just did. I have no idea how."

Ichigo sighed. "We're right back where we were before."

"Yep."

"_Why me?"_

"Cause you're a Quincy, Human, Shinigami, and Hollow. You're like a magnet for trouble."

"...What happened to Visored?"

**-AFT-AFT-AFT-**

**Kasai = a wild or uncontrollable fire**

**Yes, my updating does suck terribly. I know. **

**Reviews and ideas still much appreciated.**

**~MistyPaws**


	8. Ch 8: Triple Trouble

Ch 8: Triple Trouble

Shiro continued to go to school, and the cat had started following him more than Ichigo. Shiro liked the cat, but he would've rathered it follow Ichigo instead. Kasai would follow him everywhere, so they made sure that the cat's gigai was left at home during the day. In class she would sit on his lap or try to climb onto his shoulder, he would quietly shove her off, and she would growl at him and try again. During lunch she would steal food from him or Ichigo, or raid a lunch that had been forgotten that morning. After school, she would disappear for a few hours, only to show up again at home. They didn't know the reason why until they got home one day.

They had sat down to do homework for only a few minutes until they heard a scratching at the window. Ichigo looked over to see why Kasai was home early, and didn't just phase through the window like she usually did, being a spirit. He was shocked to see her holding two tiny kittens by their scruffs, both of them asleep. One of them looked similar to her, but with a bit more white. The other was pure black with fiery orange paws. Both were dirty though, and looked like strays. He got up and opened the window, which let Kasai to jump onto the bed and place the filthy bundles on the pillow. He reached out to pick the black one up, but quickly pulled his hand back with several deep scratches. Kasai huffed, then took the one he had tried to touch to her box bed before coming back and starting to groom the orange one. When that was done, she dropped the clean cat in her box and took the dirty one out to groom. Finally putting both in her box, she curled around them in a fluffy ball and fell asleep.

"So she brought home two kittens and probably isn't going to let them go. Guess we have to take care of them too." Ichigo had returned from bandaging the scratches, and was looking at the cat with irritation, though Shiro could see that Ichigo thought they were kinda cute. They went back to homework, and left after they were done to go out for a bit.

Kasai woke up sometime later, and her movement woke the kittens. They started mewling and squirming around everywhere. She looked around to see that a bowl of food had been left, and that Ichigo and Shiro were gone. Now knowing they were alone, she shoved the kittens out of the nest toward the food. She knew she could only care for them a little longer. If she stayed around them to much longer, their still developing souls would start to absorb traces of her Hollow energy, possibly harming them or giving them powers of their own. As the kittens finished eating and started to play, she saw the door open and an unfamiliar person step in. She was going to protect what she had claimed as hers.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

Ichigo was met as he was walking in the front door by a crying Yuzu, saying something about a huge scary monster with glowing eyes in Ichigo's room. Directing her to the living room while calming her down, he asked what happened.

"I went in your room to put your laundry in there, and there was a big monster. It's eyes were glowing to. I dropped the basket and shut the door when I ran out. Make sure it's gone Ichi!"

"It's okay Yuzu. I'll go make sure it left, alright?"

"Let me come with you!"

"Sure." Ichigo went up the steps to his room, Yuzu following him. He opened the door and turned the light on.

"Well, whatever it was, it's gone now. Okay Yuzu?"

"Yeah, I'm okay now. I need to go get dinner started, Karin should be back from soccer soon, and dad will probably be back soon too." Ichigo sighed as he heard Yuzu going down the steps. Clearly, there had truly been something, for her to be that frightened, but he could also sense something too. Realizing Kasai was not there, he looked for the kittens and found them passed out and shivering under his desk. And their bodies were glowing with reiatsu. What to do. He couldn't help them himself, he didn't trust the Shinigamis to let him keep them if they didn't know what was wrong, and a Vet would be no help because this was clearly a spiritual problem. That left Urahara. Though he didn't totally trust him either, and was tired of relying on him, he would be able to do something about it. He picked up the kittens and put them back into the box, then put it in a spot where it wouldn't be noticed. He would have to take them after dinner.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

Shiro stood in front of Urahara's shop holding the box with the kittens. He had gotten back to the house right before dinner, and Ichigo had made him take the cats. He went inside, and went to the lab in the back room, seeing as Urahara wasn't in the main part of the shop. Seeing him focusing on writing something, he went over and set the box on the notes he was writing. Startled, Urahara jerked his head up to see Shiro staring at him. Shiro gestured towards the box, and Urahara looked inside surprised to find kittens in there.

"Shiro, what happened to these cats? It looks like they were overloaded by reiatsu." Urahara questioned.

"Ichigo said he found them like this after his sister told him there was something in his room. Kasai, the Hollow cat Yoruichi wanted the gigai for, was the only one that should have been there, and was the only one I sensed other than these fur balls glowing with reiatsu." Shiro replied.

"I see. Well, that's-" He was cut off as they felt a strong presence, growing more menacing each second. Turning around, they saw a lion like creature watching them. It took another step forwards, and they could see it clearly. It lunged at Urahara,forcing him away, and putting itself between them and the box. They heard the kittens start to shriek, then it abruptly died away. Shiro was the first to recognize who it was from the reiatsu pouring off it.

"Kasai, stop it! You're reiatsu is hurting the other cats!" Shiro grabbed the end of Urahara's cane, removed his gigai, then leapt forward, and pushed Kasai down, while Urahara readied a kido. Kasai tossed him away, catching him with her claws. Before she could recover Urahara stepped in front of her and flung his hand out.

"Tanma Otoshi!" The spell fired, and hit Kasai head on. Shiro recognized it as the same one that knocked out Ichigo during the Visored training. Kasai stumbled, dazed, then collapsed completely, out cold, and shifted back to her house cat size. Shiro picked her up while Urahara checked on the kittens. Hearing a quiet swear from Urahara, Shiro went over and looked for himself. The kittens were now almost house cat size, and had mask fragments forming, but no hole. And their eyes now glowed, just like Kasai's. Urahara started to panic and started searching madly for something in the lab. Finding it, he put the liquid in a needle and quickly injected it into the two cats.

"What was that?" Shiro watched as the masks finished forming, then shattered, leaving a fragment on each cat.

"They were, in a sense, overloaded by Kasai's powerful reiatsu. That overload was reactivated when she just showed up again, with all that power leaking out. The reiatsu seems to have infected their still developing souls, and kick started a Hollowfication process. What I just injected stops that process, and the reishi that infected them will soon merge seamlessly with them, as the Hollow reiatsu cannot be removed now without causing soul suicide. Unfortunately, they are no longer regular cats, more of Hollowfied cats. Fortunately, the merging reiatsu should give them some minor powers to help them out. If they absorb anymore ambient reishi, it may make their powers develop further, as they now have reiatsu of their own that it can merge with. They will be fine now. What you tell Ichigo is up to you."

"If they're fine now, I'll take them back now. Thanks Urahara." Shiro said. He watched as the two cats seemed to regain their wits, then came over to him, now full sized cats. He shifted his grip on Kasai and left, the two new Hollow hybrids following behind him.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

The next day, Byakuya visited again, still with the issue of Shiro, but now also that several Hollow signatures had been detected around him. Byakuya was clearly not pleased with the situation. He had confronted Ichigo as the substitute had been out on patrol, and they were now standing in an abandoned area of the park.

"Kurosaki, I had warned you before about keeping Hollows around. Sou-Taichou has ordered that all Hollow's be purified. I was sent to ensure those orders are followed, whether by you of myself."

"I know you told me before, but I'm still not going to do anything. Shiro can't figure out how to return to the inner world, and the other Hollows aren't hurting or bothering anybody. So I see no reason why I have to get rid of them." Ichigo was getting edgy, not happy with the way this conversation was going.

"Because it is a Shinigami's job to eliminate Hollows."

"I thought it was our job to protect souls, which is only necessary when a Hollow is trying to hurt them. These Hollows are not. Shiro is a part of me, and I accepted the responsibility of protecting those Hollows when I took them in. And by the way, two of them aren't actual Hollows, and they all have names."

Byakuya gave one last look at him, then shunpo'd away. He felt his signature heading for Shiro, who was in a different part of town in his soul form. He has apparently left his gigai at Urahara's Shop, deciding he didn't want to use it over the weekend and would get it before school Monday. He felt another signature heading to his house where the cats were. _'Crap'_ Figuring Shiro could manage, he went into a shunpo towards the second signature. When he arrived, he was not expecting what he saw. Renji was stopped outside the house with a giant lion staring him down. It has the same fiery fur Kasai did, and getting closer, the same golden eyes and tiara shaped fragment.

"Kasai, stop it!" Amazingly, this got a reaction from both of them. Renji flashed behind Ichigo to hide, and Kasai turned to look at him. _'Those are some big fangs on that cat.' _

"Why are you here, Renji? And why is Kasai after you?"

"You know this Hollow?!"

"Yes. Why are you here?" Ichigo repeated.

"I was told to deal with some cat like Hollows that had been sensed around here, but got stopped by that lion. Why do you know this Hollow?"

"Her name is Kasai, and she's kinda my pet right now."

"Pet? How is that thing a pet?"

Ichigo ignored him to talk to Kasai. "Hey Kasai. It's alright now. He won't do anything to you. Come here." Kasai hesitated for a moment before shrinking back to cat size, and jumping on his shoulder.

He turned back to Renji. "Yep. Pet." "But that thing almost attacked me!"

"No, she was keeping the house safe. You're a Shinigami she doesn't know, so you can't just expect her to be friendly to you." Ichigo flashed away to where he sensed Shiro and Byakuya. It was hard to find them though, as their signatures were moving very quickly through the town, as if they were chasing each other. And that was exactly what was happening. Shiro was running from Byakuya, but that wasn't all, that strange. What was strange was that Byakuya didn't have a sword, but Shiro still had his, plus Senbonzakura. Shiro was grinning like he was having fun, and Byakuya was scowling, trying hard to catch up and retrieve his sword. All in all, it actually looked pretty funny. After a while though, Shiro began to slow down. He may be faster, but Byakuya had plenty of stamina and experience from chasing a certain cat. So Ichigo shunpo'd over, grabbed Senbonzakura from Shiro, and stood to face Byakuya.

"Return my zanpakuto." Byakuya demanded.

"Sure. On one condition."

"What is it?"

"Go back to Soul Society and tell sou-taicho to leave us alone."

"You do realize that is practically suicidal."

"What's suicidal is you standing here arguing with me, while i have three swords and you have none. And by the way, I'd have Shiro helping me too." Byakuya glared at him.

"There is one other option Byakuya, but I don't think a noble like yourself would accept it. I will fight for anyone who falls under my protection, as long as they aren't causing any harm. You help me, I give your zanpakuto back, and I'll help you with any trouble from Soul Society."

Byakuya took a moment to think about this. _'He is going to do whatever it takes to protect them. Even though I am bound to Soul Society, he has shown me that some things are more important than the rules. He truly cares for these beings, that the Soul Society wants to destroy even though they have done no harm, and one is even a part of him. Nothing is worth destroying part of his soul._

"I will join you Kurosaki. Make good on your promise to help me out of this mess you have gotten us into."

"Deal." Ichigo handed the sword back, and Byakuya left. He felt another Senkaimon open nearby, and Renji's reiatsu disappeared. He briefly felt somewhat sorry for Byakuya. That was not a report that anyone would want to give.


	9. Ch 9: Evolution

Ch 9: Evolution

The next day found Byakuya standing in his place in line at the captains meeting. He had spent the remainder of the previous night in reflecting on his and Ichigo's conversation, and thinking about his own views of such matters, and come to some disturbing conclusions. He silently cursed Ichigo and Soul Society for getting him into this mess. The meeting had started and he had been asked to give his report. With a silent sigh, he stepped forward and began.

"I had arrived in Karakura with Abari Fuku-Taicho, and sent him to deal with the Hollow cats while I confronted Kurosaki. We briefly talked before I went after the other Hollow. Kurosaki showed up again, and we argued before coming to an understanding. Abari and I then returned to Soul Society." As Byakuya finished speaking, Yamamoto spoke up.

"And what understanding did you come to, Kuchiki-Taicho?" He inquired.

"That I am no longer a Captain in the Gotei 13." As he spoke, he slipped off his Haori, and when he finished, he reached out his arm and dropped it as though it was a filthy rag, letting it flutter onto the ground in a tangled heap. The pressure in the room suddenly grew extremely heavy as Yamamoto glared at him.

"Kuchiki. What is the meaning of this? Are you, a noble and a captain, turning traitor?" Sou-Taichou growled.

"I have come to the realization that Soul Society is a corrupt system, that uses politics and power to enforce their position of control. Important decisions are practically made on a whim. They are not tolerant of change, and refuse to accept that things cannot remain the same, even as centuries, millennia, go by. We have stagnated, and cannot see that not all beings have such black and white definitions as they did centuries ago. Not all Shinigami are good, neither are all Hollows evil. Beings cannot be categorized so easily.

"In terms of government, Aizen did us a favor in ridding us of the central 46, those fools who barred our ability to make progress, yet we have not taken hold of that advantage! New paths have been opened for us, yet we refuse to walk them! Why do we hold so steadfastly to such outdated tradition? Surely Kurosaki and his allies have shown us that our rules can be wrong, and in need of change. Kurosaki cares for these beings, because they are indeed different from what we consider Hollows to be, and they are of no threat to anyone. If we had just stopped for a moment,we would have realized this, and would not be making unnecessary enemies.

"And what enemies have we made? We have cast out the Visored, who did nothing wrong but be caught in the crossfire of Aizen's experiments! We have cast out Kisuke Urahara, who was wrongly condemned, and we knew it! We are making enemies of Ichigo Kurosaki, by attacking those under his protection, when they are causing no harm! Even worse, one of the beings we are attacking is a part of his soul! Losing a part of one's soul breaks whoever loses it, and is the worst type of pain! You needlessly making enemies of allies, and for what reason?

"Who are we to judge others, when our own society is in such disarray? We cannot even take care of our own Society's people, and yet we claim to be good enough to judge others who are not even of the Soul Society! It is such foolishness and arrogance that gave rise to Aizen! I WILL NOT BE PART OF SUCH A CORRUPT AND FOOLISH SYSTEM!"

The tension that had been building finally shattered as Byakuya lost his composure in his rage. Chaos erupted as swords were drawn and tempers flared. Byakuya quickly released his zanpakuto to add to the confusion and using the petals to create a cover, and left as fast as he could. A distance away, he quickly opened a Senkaimon and hurried though, not noticing the small white captain following him though.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

The same day in the World of the Living found Ichigo and Shiro in Urahara's underground training base. Shiro was teaching Ichigo more about his powers, and what better way to do it then to literally pound it into him? So far they had gone over the differences between the cutting and exploding Getsugas, as well as the bubble-shaped shockwave Getsuga. He had planned to teach Ichigo Getsuga Jūjisho, but Ichigo had figured it out himself in a moment of panic. Sonído had come easily, as it was simply Shunpo with Hollow Reiatsu. In fact, Ichigo had managed to mix Shunpo with Sonído to form an even faster technique he called Shundo. Now, all that was left was a few Hollow abilities. At that thought, Shiro smirked and paused the training session.

"Alright King. So far, we've made great progress. Now, all we gotta do is kick yer Hollow powers inta high gear. We're gonna work on Cero, Hierro, and Regeneration all at once, then we're done. Now, take a guess as ta how that's gonna go, King." Shiro stated with a smirk.

"What is there to guess about? We're going to still be fighting, right?" Ichigo questioned.

"Call it a fight if ya want, but I think this is gonna be more of a one sided beat down 'nless ya figure them out real quick. Ya can only use yer Hollow powers and swords, no Shunpo or Getsuga. But, to make it easier for ya, I'll only use Cero and Bala to shoot ya." Shiro stated.

"How's that going to make it any easier?! You can still shoot me, but I won't have anything to fight back with until I learn Cero!" Ichigo complained.

"Oh, it makes it easier for ya alright King. It gives ya an example to follow!" Shiro exclaimed, drawing a horned mask and shooting a Bala straight at Ichigo to get the fight started. Ichigo quickly blocked with his blade, and dodged to the side, summoning his own white mask with crimson stripes on one side. Attempting to make the most of his swords, he closed the distance quickly and tried to slash Shiro with his Khyber blade, only to have to retreat halfway through the slash to evade another bala. Shiro started using Sonído to move, giving him time to charge a highly condensed Cero in one hand. He kept charging it even as he fought off Ichigo's repeated attempts to strike him. Finally, he couldn't shove any more power into the Cero, he blocked one more strike, pushed Ichigo back, and released his hold on the energy.

Seeing the blast coming towards him at high speed, Ichigo reacted on pure instinct. Not having any time to get out of the way, he stabbed his large khyber blade into the ground in front of him while his smaller blade came up in a block in front of him. As he crouched behind his blades, he threw out his free hand and acted as if he was going to throw a Getsuga from his hand. The energy shot forward in a brilliant display of blue, impacting with Shiro's red Cero, but it wasn't enough to stop it. Upon realizing that, he pulled in and hardened his reiatsu, hoping to withstand the attack. It blew past his guard, slamming into him and burning against his skin until it faded. He was surprised when Shiro landed in front of him and offered him a helping hand getting up. As he stood, he sheathed his smaller blade, then pulled the larger from the ground and did the same.

"I take it we're done here?" Ichigo questioned.

"Hold on. Just one more thing. Pay attention ta what I'm gonna do." Shiro said. He put his hand on Ichigo's chest, and Ichigo felt him manipulating his reiatsu. It shifted from leaking out of his control, to gently circulating inside his body. He watched in amazement as the burns started to heal before his eyes. Shiro suddenly stopped though, and pulled his hand away.

"Okay. Ya saw what I did, now finish it." Shiro ordered. He watched Ichigo closed his eyes, and his reiatsu shifted again, clearly trying to focus. He smiled when he saw the rest of the burns fade, then disappear entirely.

"Good. The more ya use it, the faster n' easier it will become, till it happens naturally. That's the basics of instant regeneration. Now, we've done a lot today, so let's just take a rest. We're done here." Shiro said as he sat down. "Ya' did real good today, Ichigo."

"Hey Shiro, I have a question for you." Ichigo said as he sat across from Shiro.

"What?"

"Is it really okay for me to call you Shiro, and Ossan Zangetsu still? I mean that's what I called you before, but I know who you guys really are now. Calling you something other than Zangetsu bothers me a bit, now that I know." Ichigo stated. And Shiro understood, he did not entirely like being called Shiro, when he was in fact part of Zangetsu. At this thought however, the other Zangetsu materialized next to them and sat with them.

"Ichigo, though we are both Zangetsu, I understand the need for us to have separate names. As we are manifested as the different aspects of your power, I would be Kurogetsu, and he would be Shirogetsu. 'Together, Shirogetsu and Kurogetsu become Zangetsu.' Would you find these names acceptable, Ichigo, Zangetsu?" Zangetsu Ossan asked.

"Yeah, I like those names. What do you think, Shiro?" Ichigo questioned.

"I'm good with that. 'Together, White Moon and Black Moon become Slaying Moon.' huh? I like that." Shirogetsu said with a grin.

"Well then, guess that's sorted out now, huh, Zangetsu's." Ichigo said with a small smile. It honestly made him feel very happy, having his powers manifested and getting along with both him and each other. It didn't matter what others thought of him or his powers, as long as they were together, they could make it through anything. Speaking of which…

"Hey, how much trouble you think we stirred up with Soul Society? I don't think that report from Byakuya could have gone well with the other captains, especially the Head Captain. Hope he doesn't try to kill us when he gets back. He's gotta have something against us for what we did to him." Ichigo wondered.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

In the woods on the edge of town, a Senkaimon opened and an unusually ruffled looking noble walked out. He turned to look at the one that had followed him and stepped out right before the gate closed. They stood for a moment, silently observing each other, before the noble spoke up.

"It seems you have not followed me in interest of a fight. If anything, you seem to be wanting to ask something, Hitsugaya-Taicho."

"Indeed. Although I understood what you said at the meeting, I want to understand why you chose to go against Soul Society. You especially tend to be very strict and by-the-books about things. What prompted this sudden change over heart, Kuchiki?" Toshiro asked. Byakuya took a moment to think about his words before responding.

"Despite what it may seem, this decision was not quite as sudden as you might think. I started questioning things when Kurosaki saved Rukia, and the discussion we had yesterday was enough to harden my resolve. I have actually thought about it quite a bit, likely to the point of being excessive. Aizen cared nothing for the rules, or for the lives he affected. Kurosaki does not care about rules either, but only if they interfere with a person's life. As it is, Kurosaki has already challenged the Soul Society numerous times for our ways, yet we as a society have refused to change. I truly believe Soul Society is in the wrong, has been, but we have simply refused to acknowledge it." Toshiro listened quietly to the explanation, before nodding and accepting it.

"Thank you, Kuchiki. I understand. Would you mind if I accompany you? As it stands, I agree with you, and am likely already in trouble for leaving with you." He requested.

"Of course. I see trouble stirring, and we will need as many allies as we can. We need to make the others see that they are in the wrong, before Soul Society destroys itself from within." Spoken with a tone of finality, Byakuya took the lead tracking Ichigo, Toshiro following close behind him. They had plans and preparations to make.

-AFT-AFT-AFT-

**Hey y'all, been a while huh? Hope i didn't spam everyone with reposting chapters, this is the only new chapter, the others were just re-uploaded mostly to correct formatting and minor grammar issues.**

**And let me just say, I had a horrible time finding a decent line-break style that actually showed up on here! Stupid line breaks!**

**As always, reviews, advice, and suggestions are always welcome and much appreciated!**

**~MistyPaws**


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